


Gundam Wing: Assassins' Lament - The Next Generation

by ryoko126, Shadow_Assassin01



Category: Gundam & Related Fandoms, Gundam Wing
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angst and Feels, Drama, F/M, Long Lost/Secret Relatives, M/M, Multi, Warnings To Come, possible supernatural elements, secrets upon secrets, this is gonna be a wild ride, will get DARK
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-20
Updated: 2019-03-07
Packaged: 2019-11-01 04:18:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,162
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17860151
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ryoko126/pseuds/ryoko126, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shadow_Assassin01/pseuds/Shadow_Assassin01
Summary: The year is After Colony 215. It has been 17 years since the defeat of Dekim Barton, the Marimaia army and the Barton foundation. All seems well and Earth and the Colonies are enjoying the long and quiet peace. The Gundam group has finally moved on with their lives and have families of their own. They're all starting to put painful pasts behind them but something lurks in the shadows... Will the past of some bring trouble for all? Will secrets that have been buried, but not forgotten, come to light? How will the others react to these well kept, and rather dark, secrets? And more importantly... what happens when the world is in need of a new group of heroes to fight for peace? Who will answer the call? And can the former Gundam pilots keep this new group from getting in over their heads and keep them from making the same mistakes they once did? Read and find out!





	1. The Calm Before The Storm

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Assassins' Lament](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/458279) by Shadow-Assassin. 



> We do not own, nor are we making money off of Gundam Wing. We do not own the cannon characters but Shadow_Assassin01 and Ryoko126 own the original characters in the story.
> 
> This is a mashup of Shadow_Assassin01's "Assassins' Lament" and an old RP done with friends entitled "Gundam Wing Next Generation" hosted by Bakura Millennium Keeper on Fanfiction.net. If you hate spoilers, don't read either of these stories.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Gundam boys and their families along with some familiar faces have decided to get together to have a bit of a reunion... along with them they bring their wives and their children... Chaos ensues in a house full of children and this house is no exception...

The year is After Colony 215. It has been 17 years since the defeat of Dekim Barton, the Marimaia army and the Barton foundation. Mobile suits have long since been banned and all countries and colonies have demilitarized. At least on the surface.

The Preventers, a group of former soldiers, rebels, gorillas and mobile suit pilots, continue to stamp out the fire of war, helping to keep the peace. Amongst the Preventer ranks are Heero Yuy and Wufei Chang along with Zechs Merquise, Lucrezia Noin, Sally Po and Lady Une, who acts as the commander and chief of the Preventers.

Heero has since married Relena Darlan, former Queen Relena Peacecraft, and they have a son, named Akio, together. Wufei and Sally were also married and have a daughter named Xiuzhen. Zechs and Lucrezia married some time ago as well and had a daughter named Miriona. Lady Une, however, never married, her heart still unable to forget Treize.

Duo Maxwell now resides in the L2 Colony Cluster and runs a scrap metal business with Hilde Schbeiker, whom he married and had two children with, a son, Roa and a daughter, Elda. He occasionally does jobs for the Preventers as needed. Trowa Barton, pilot of Gundam 03, returned to life at the circus, though he also freelances for the Preventers when his particular skills are needed. Trowa, strangely enough, married Dorothy Catalonia and had a son with her by the name of Kaito. Quatre Raberba Winner works in politics with Relena Peacecraft while running the Winner Foundation in the L4 Cluster. He married Trowa's adoptive sister, Catherine Bloom, and they have a son together as well. His name is Karim.

All seems well and Earth and the Colonies are enjoying the long and quiet peace but something dark lurks in the shadows... Will the past of some bring trouble for all? Will secrets that have been buried and forgotten come to light? What happens when the world is in need of a new group of soldiers to fight for peace? Who will answer the call?

*******************************

Quatre and Relena had decided that it was high time the group, who helped bring about peace, got the chance to spend some time together. They'd made arrangements with everyone to take a week off and meet at the Sanq Palace to have a reunion. Trowa, who often visited the Sanq Palace with his son, Kaito, came early along with Wufei, Sally and their daughter, Xiuzhen. Heero's son, Akio, had already been roped into showing Wufei's little girl around the building leaving only one 'runt', present, with nothing to do.

Wufei sighed as he headed towards the library to grab a book and do some reading while he didn't have to keep an eye on his teenaged daughter... though part of him wondered if leaving her in the hands of a teenage boy was such a good idea... But it was Heero's kid though... not like it was Trowa's brat... That kid... he would never ever leave his daughter alone with that one... ever... ok... so maybe he wasn't that bad... Who was he kidding? The kid was a terror.

The moment he stepped into the library he tensed, spotting the rope too late as something fell from above the door and onto his head... There was a bucket tied to that rope which was tipped over when he opened the door fully. In the bucket... was flour... Thankfully the bucket itself didn't hit him, being tied to the rope and all, but being covered in white flour was not exactly pleasant...

"BARTON!" he snapped out loudly before he heard a slight snicker, spotting a head of brown shoulder length hair around the corner of the hallway. The familiar brown bangs were not gelled up, ready to poke someone's eye out, like a certain green eyed pilot's, but were, instead, left to rest mysteriously over one emerald orb.

"You... die... now..." Wufei snarled before the green eyed teen smirked playfully and turned, bolting down the hallway, "GET BACK HERE!" Wufei snapped as the boy wove around the hallways, turning corners with expert precision. He chuckled as he heard Wufei narrowly miss a decorative table that rested against the wall, cursing as he continued to chase after the teen. The brunette, however, wasn't having any of it as he headed towards the front doors and, hopefully, freedom.

"You're getting slow, old man! See ya!" the boy shouted over his head with a smirk, long bangs blowing out of his face as he ran, doing a front flip and landing back up on his feet before turning to stick his tongue out at the other and pull down his lower eyelid, just to get under his skin. That didn't last long though before he was bolting again. Kaito Barton was fast and agile. He was also strong and smart... and a horrible smart-ass when he wanted to be. He had a thing for torturing Wufei and Wufei swore he'd catch the kid one day and make him pay... dearly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you could leave me a review, that would be great. Reviews inspire me to write more. =^-^= It doesn't have to be long. Just knowing you enjoyed it is enough. Constructive criticism is always welcome as well.


	2. The Inner Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> New faces emmerge... Kaito's in trouble... Wufei's pissed... and so is Duo for some reason and Trowa is the target of his anger? Like father like son? But what could the usually stoic Trowa Barton have done to warrant the usually playful Duo Maxwell's anger? Find out as the second chapter of Gundam Wing: The Next Generation, unfolds...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things may start getting darker from this point on. I'll add warnings as they are needed. I've also redone this chapter so it's not all over the place. I've separated the scenes a bit more so it's less confusing. My apologies and I will be doing the same with the other chapters.

Not long after Kaito managed to slip out of sight from Wufei, an echoey, "YAAAY!" was heard through the halls. The pitch indicating a young boy and with it was the sounds of running feet, and within moments a brown-haired ball of braids and energy burst into the parlour where Wufei had finally meandered after giving up chase of the green eyed brat. 

The bearer of the braids looked around for a second or two before he spotted Wufei who was very obviously covered in the evidence of one of Kaito's pranks. With a rather big grin, the head of braids had the gall to ask, "Where's Kaito, Wu-man?" It didn't take him long to catch the scowl on the Chinese man's face before he backed up away from the agitated man, "Eh, heh... Never mind. I'll find him, myself." And with that, off he went.

The boy's father, Duo Maxwell, and his mother Hilde Schbeiker-Maxwell, came in a few seconds later, just in time to see their son bound out of the room again. In Duo's arms was a small girl with blue-black hair and a long braid, "I think the kid's gotten ahold of some candy. Better watch out." Actually, that wasn't true. This was always how Roa was when he got to visit his best friend, Kaito. The boy sure as hell wasn't here for the banquet, that's for sure. 

Wufei scowled at Duo and sighed, "I have enough with one hyperactive, annoying teenager running around here without having another one..." he mumbles as he brushes flour off his clothes and shakes it out of his hair, "Trowa should keep his kid away from you... and your kids... he's picked up your bad habits, Maxwell..." he grumbled and sighed, "If I find him... I'm hanging him upside down till all the blood rushes to his head and his eyes bulge out."

Duo couldn't help but chuckle, Hilde stifling her own chuckle at Wufei's 'threat'. They seriously doubted it would come to that. They were both sure Wufei had a soft spot for the young circus brat but Duo just shrugged his shoulders gently instead of saying anything about that little 'fact', "They're kids. I wanna give Roa and Elda what we never got to have. I mean, none of us got to be children really. We didn't get to play and fool around. Well, ok, I fooled around a little... ok, maybe a lot... Anyway, point is, if they want to play and be a little loud, I don't really want to make a big fuss over it. Roa does know his manners at least. The kid's just got so much energy, he forgets sometimes."

Wufei just sighed, "That's fine... for your kids... but Kaito's... different..." he mumbled out, "He shouldn't be fooling around... he needs to get his act together... Besides... he's the oldest and needs to act it..." he said, finally deciding brushing himself off just wasn't going to work, "I'm going to shower and change... if Akio and Xiu come back down or Sally comes looking for me, just let them know I'll be back in a few... Pretty sure Sally's still in chatting with Relena and Dorothy right now..." 

With that he turned to head off to his room to take a quick shower and change out of his powder covered clothes. Thank god they all had rooms here at the palace that were theirs alone to use. Even when they weren't there no one else had the keys to their rooms. Gundam Pilots could be particularly paranoid and hated other people touching their things after all. 

On the way out of the room, he nearly bumped into Trowa. He looked at the slightly taller former pilot and all but glared at him as he muttered out a slow utterance of, "control your unruly child..." before brushing past him with a stern and rather unhappy look on his face, a slight billowing of flour following in his wake making it rather clear why he was upset this time around.

Trowa just sighed and shook his head, his hand moving to pinch the bridge of his nose, "I knew I shouldn't have let Duo anywhere near him..." before he finally stepped into the room and spotted Duo, "no offence..." he said with just the slightest of smirks to the other brunette, "It really is good to see you, both of you," he said to both Duo and Hilde, before looking to the 6 year old girl in Duo's arms, "And you little miss Elda, of course... did your big brother ditch you to go find Kaito again?"

Hilde smiled warmly and chuckled slightly, "Hey there Trowa, it's nice to see you... Looks like Kaito got himself into some trouble again, huh? Maybe keeping him away from Duo might have been for the best but it certainly would't be quite so entertaining," she winked playfully, "But of course, Roa's already run off to find him... They get along great, don't they? It's nice to see all of our kids get along so well. I'd hate it if any of them couldn't get along..." she said, finally moving forward to give Trowa a hug, though part of her knew it might not be the best of ideas. She didn't normally hug Trowa in the vicinity of Duo. 

Trowa was about the only other person besides Duo and her kids that she was ever really affectionate like this with. The only other ones were Dorothy and pretty much all the kids, except for Akio who gave her death glares when she even tried. It wasn't like they spent more time with the Barton's or anything... but Hilde just seemed more comfortable with the two of them compared to the other pilots and their wives.

At the 'no offense' comment, Duo just let out a little, "Meh," and a shrug, not seeming all that bothered by it. Elda, meanwhile, gave a nod to Trowa and a playful pout, though she admitted, "He's boring anyway. He won't play Tea Party with me anymore. Says he's too big for baby games... My games aren't baby games... a baby can't hold a teacup. They'd spill all the tea all over them... and babies don't drink tea either."

Though when Hilde started to hug Trowa, Duo shifted his feet uncomfortably. Duo wouldn't normally consider himself a jealous man, but this was rather odd behavior for his wife. She was not the type to hug the others, at least from what he'd seen. Neither of them had much in the way of family. Hilde never talked about her family at all in fact. He, also, didn't butt into whatever girl time Hilde had with her separate friends, so he had no idea if she hugged them. It didn't feel right though and the smile left his lips, but he wouldn't say anything and cause a scene in front of his wife and daughter.

Trowa hugged Hilde back for a moment and smiled warmly before pulling away. Hilde didn't let go quite right away though. Instead she shifted over and leaned up to give him a kiss on the cheek, "you three need to come over and have dinner with us sometime... when Kaito's home of course... and I bet you, my little lady, can con Kaito into playing tea party with you and then Roa will be right behind him..." she said as she moved back over to pick up her daughter and wrap one arm around Duo's arm, "Besides... I miss girl-talk with Dorry..." she grinned playfully and Trowa just shook his head, "Seriously, last time you did 'girl-talk' with my wife I got roped into shoe shopping cause 'your man should be there to hold your bags'..." 

If Duo wasn't so focused on both Hilde and Trowa's unusual behaviour, well a warm smile is unusual for Trowa as far as Duo knew, he probably would have snickered at the very thought of Dorothy engaging in girl-talk with Hilde. He was, frankly, very uncomfortable all together with this situation as he leaned forward to hand Hilde their youngest, "Hey, Hilde... Mind taking our little princess to get something to eat?" He leaned over to purposefully kiss his wife, as if to remind Trowa who's wife she was. He knew it was probably childish but he really didn't care right now.

Hilde smirked at Trowa and nodded, "It's what you're for, boy... get use to it..." she then smiled warmly at Duo, pressing into his kiss before pulling away, letting her arm slowly slip from around his, "Play nice, boys..." she chuckled playfully as she slipped out. She knew Duo was slightly upset but she hadn't seen Trowa in a while and she really did miss him. She knew Trowa could handle his own anyway so she wasn't worried about him. She needed to start letting Duo get use to the idea of her being close to other people... namely the Bartons, "Lets sneak some cookies from the cookie jar," she winked at Elda playfully as she walked out with the child in her arms. 

Kaito, meanwhile, had finally stopped once he got outside and around the corner. He knew Wufei had given up by now. He always did once Kaito was outside... Kaito was just too damn fast... Wufei's only chance was if he ran into a wall, tripped over something or bumped into someone... less of a chance of that out here. He panted just slightly and sighed, smirking, "well, that was a decent workout at least... I needed the exercise..." he said as he pushed off the wall before blinking and sniffing the air slightly, almost like an animal, "hey... the Maxwell's are here... I give Roa about... five minutes max before he finds me..." with that he headed towards a nearby tree, hoping up onto a branch easily to wait for the younger boy.

Roa, somehow, knew that Kaito wasn't in the building anymore. Especially if Wu-man wasn't chasing him anymore. So the 14 year old brunette bolted out another exit toward the garden. There were lots of trees and places to hide and that's exactly were the boy's eyes started their search and it didn't take long before he spotted a particular tree rustling just slightly more than the others and looked in that direction. Sure enough, there he was, perched atop a branch looking quite comfortable despite the height. 

Like the sneaky little bugger he could be, he tried to make his way behind Kaito as quietly and stealthily as he possibly could before finally shouting out, "Found you!" and laughing. There was no way he would be able to climb the tree without making any noise so Roa settled on that tactic before finally climbing his way up the tree, sitting himself down on a higher branch than Kaito, just in case the branches couldn't hold both of them, "Looks like you got Wu-man good this time!"

Kaito, meanwhile, had been waiting in the tree for Roa. He smirked when he smelt the other nearing and heard his faint breaths and footsteps. He didn't show he knew and purposely jumped slightly, letting himself fall backwards like he'd lost his balance and catching himself with his legs on the branch as he looked down at the other, feigning shock, "You scared me... I thought you were Wufei for a second there. Figured I was in real trouble," he said, playing the part before chuckling softly, "come on up... room for plenty... well... at least room for two..." he said with a smile, still hanging upside down as Roa made his way to the branch above him.

Now that Roa had finally stopped running around, his hair settled on his back, still a bit wild. Five thin braids ran down his neck and blew about in the breeze, held close together by an elastic band at the base of his neck. Although he didn't always seem it, Roa was a sharp boy. He knew that Kaito had actually noticed his presence, he always did. That's what made each attempt so much fun. The hopes that some day he'd actually catch him off guard. Kaito was always funny when he tried to sneak up behind him too... even if he knew the other was faking it, it was still fun.

He couldn't help but laugh and roll his eyes playfully, "Suuuure I scared you... Psh... I bet you saw me coming a mile away. You always do and you know it." Though he shrugged indifferently, changing the subject. "I totally lucked out. Mom actually wanted to put me in one of those tuxedos, but Dad talked her out of it. Getting up here in one of those would suck and my mom would kill me if I got it dirty... What about you? I haven't seen you in a while. It sucks that we can't hang out all the time, huh?"

Kaito just chuckled softly and smirked as he pulled himself up by the legs, his arms clasped behind his head, showing off his strength a little bit. Once back up he shifted, putting the tree against his back and bringing one leg up onto the branch while the other hung down, perfectly balanced, "Ya, my mom tried but ain't gonna happen... I'm not wearing no penguin suit..." he said calmly, "I've been around. School's boring as always... same ol', same ol'... If your folks ever suggest boarding school, run... run like your life depends on it, kiddo..." he chuckled with a bit of a grin, "but ya... maybe I can take a weekend and pop over and hang out with you guys... your dad does have that open door policy after all..."

Roa's eyes grew wide at the idea of going to boarding school, "Nuh-uh. Maybe if I was in the same classes as you. But otherwise, I wouldn't want to have to live at a school. Since we're not the same age, no way we'd be in the same classes. It's bad enough I come home with homework, but there's no telling how much you have to do..." Soon his arms moved to grab onto the branch like a perch and let his feet dangle, "Annnd, I suppose Elda needs me to watch her at times. I bet she'd cry if she didn't have anyone to play with. Even if her games are kind of silly. But you know you're always welcome! Elda's got her own room now, so it'll be just us boys! We can do whatever we want and you know that Dad probably won't stop us."

Kaito chuckled at the other and nodded, "trust me... the work there 'never' ends... but it's ok... I don't mind it... I'm learning a lot and I feel like I'm really doing something with my life..." he said, "and that sounds cool... maybe your dad'll let us camp out in the backyard even... that'd be cool," he smirked, "the sun, the stars, the bears... the wolves..." he teased, "You're good with your sister by the way... sometimes I wish I had a sibling... but then I remember who my parents are... and I change my mind..." he said with a smirk and a wink though there was something oddly sad in his eyes for a moment before he stretched a bit, arms raising above his head as he groaned before relaxing back against the tree.

Roa gave a bright smile at being told he was a good brother. Even though the age gap could make it easy to get bored of the childish games he would be forced to partake in. He was still protective and proud of his sister. Though at catching the sad look on the other boy's face, he frowned slightly and moved over onto the same branch as Kaito, wrapping an arm around his friend, "Hey. You might get a little brother or sister eventually. And if you don't, you can borrow Elda. Just be sure to bring her home for bedtime. She's got kindergarden on Mondays." He gave a wink to show he was playing and just trying to cheer the other up.

Kaito chuckled at Roa and sighed, “it’s not that... my parents are great and all but... they... have their issues. The war wasn’t exactly ‘good’ to them. They have mental and physical scars that may never heal... among other things...” he said with a shrug, “I’m lucky to actually have been born. I don’t think they were actually planning on having kids... Face it... there's a reason I was born when my mom was 19 and it certainly wasn't because my parents planned it all out... I was just a wedding night accident...”

Roa wasn't smiling anymore as he leaned closer and hugged his friend, patting the other's back, "Well... I'm glad you're here. It doesn't matter if they intended to have you or not, I don't think I'd want to be friends with anyone else like I am with you." He pulled away as he grinned again, "I mean, you're amazing! You're athletic and smart! I know you've got a lot of things you got to deal with but you really got yourself together. I don't care what Wu-man or anyone else thinks. You're the best!"

Kaito chuckled and smirked as he nodded. The truth was humour was one of his ‘escapes’ from stress, just like Duo. He ruffled the other boy's hair and sighed after a moment, “thanks... I love my parents and all but occasionally I feel like I need to take care of them... they both have horrifying night terrors sometimes... mostly my mom but sometimes it’s my dad. They’ve told me a lot about what happened during the war but there are still some things that they refuse to talk about. As for Wufei... he plays the tough guy but he loves me... trust me,” he winked, “I toy with him just to prove I can. He has yet to beat me... though sometimes I think he doesn’t even really try.” 

Roa leaned in for another hug. It was just the way he was toward his friends. He hasn't gotten to the point that physical affection wasn't seen as manly yet, "Yeah... None of us really have normal parents. I think Dad hides it better than the others, but I can see something with mom at times. It's something I don't think I can really understand. But I'm here for you. You have my phone number too so even if you're at boarding school, you can always talk to me. I promise. I'm always here for you! I enjoy talking with you."

Kaito smiled slightly and leaned against the other boy, sighing softly, “that got dark real quick... alright... we need to do something... I don’t know what... but it’s gotta be fun... and it's gotta be now...” he smirked with a nod, “bet you Wufei’s finished cleaning up by now... I’ve got water balloons in my bag up in my room... Damn am I gonna have so much to clean up after this... Oh well...” he said, not making eye contact as he grinned mischievously, trouble brewing in his brunette head. At least he always cleaned up after himself... eventually... Kaito tended to use pranks and other random fun to alleviate stress and Wufei tended to be the target of most of his pranks... especially since Heero and his parents would kill him, Quatre was just too sweet to target, Duo would just be too easy and wouldn't give the desired reaction, the rest of the women were just too 'innocent' to target and he would never target any of the younger kids as that would just be mean. 

Wufei might try to chase him down, shout at him and threaten bodily harm but he wasn't quite as fast or stealthy as his parents or as clever or determined as Heero and the truth was, Wufei had always wanted a son of his own. It's not that he didn't love Xiu... she was his pride and joy and he loved her more then anything... it was just that he'd always wanted a boy he could teach... someone he could impart his wisdom to. He was the only Gundam Pilot who didn't have a boy and he was just the tiniest little bit jealous of his comrades. 

Kaito had actually learned a whole lot from Wufei over the years... even trained with the other... He'd learned martial arts and swordplay from the older male along with the importance of always striving to become stronger. Wufei, however, was still the perfect target and Kaito knew that when it came down to it, Wufei would never actually cause him any serious harm... Wufei liked him way too much for that even if he'd never admit it. He was totally the son that Wufei never had and Kaito used that to his advantage. 

Roa only nodded as he looked up at his friend and grinned playfully, ready for some fun and chaos, "Sure! Sure! Let's go get them and we can take them to the restroom and fill them up. Next time, I'm going to bring a couple of cans of silly string." With that he jumped down. It was without flair but he knew how to keep from hurting himself. After a second he looked up and waved for Kaito to join him as he giggled cheerfully.

“Awesome!” Kaito grinned at the other boy, watching him jump off before shifting to stand on the branch, winking before he brought his arms out to his side before letting himself fall forward, rolling as he hit the ground and flipping up and back up to a standing position with his arms out at his sides again. He’d worked with his dad at the circus here and there when he had time and he’d been trained in acrobatics from a young age. He also liked to make Roa smile with his antics, “off we go! Wufei won’t know what hit him. Well... ok, he'll know it's wet...”

Back in the parlour, Trowa had watched mother and daughter head out and sighed after a brief silence, "I should probably check on Kaito before Wufei finishes cleaning up, manages to find him and strangles him..." he mumbled out, not really wanting to have this conversation with Duo. He knew it would have to happen eventually but he was hoping he could avoid it just a little longer. He just really didn't want to deal with that kind of 'drama' right now. Of course, this could either make him seem oblivious or guilty... neither of which would probably please Duo at this point in time.

Duo spoke up before Trowa could walk away from him, "Kaito's fine and you know it. I bet Roa's already found him and they're just hanging out. Wufei isn't going to do anything this late in the game. He's already given up and even if he didn't, Kaito's never been caught before, so I doubt this would be any different from every other time," Duo uttered out, "What I want to know is what that was all about. Hilde's not the type to hug the other guys... And you're definitely not a hugger. And that cheek kiss? What's the deal?

Trowa stopped and sighed, pausing for a moment before finally turning and facing the disgruntled Duo, “it isn’t the first time Hilde has hugged me, Duo. It’s just her thing... she does it with Dorothy too... and Kaito and the other kids. Just because she doesn’t do it with the other pilots or their wives doesn’t make it wrong... you need to drop it... now... along with your train of thought... you are being paranoid.”

The word, paranoid, seemed to just get Duo more frustrated and angry, not that that was surprising. He all but glared at Trowa before his hand snapped out and he grabbed a hold of Trowa's wrist to keep him from trying to walk away from him again, "Then how come I'm just now finding out about this kind of thing? We've all known each other a really long time and I'm somehow just now finding out about my own wife being like this? Really? I don't buy it, Trowa..."

Trowa rolled his eyes, “She's hugged us before... it isn't the first time... half the time you’re not paying attention, focused on something else, usually the kids... or she does it when she invites us in... or when she sees us out... much of the time, you’re not there when she answers the door or sees us out... she’s friendly... she likes to initiate physical affection... if you have a problem with it... talk to your wife... Don't talk to me... Just because you've never noticed doesn't make it unusual, Duo.”

Duo seemed to grow angrier at the accusation, anger bubbling precariously to the surface, "So, you think I don't pay enough attention to my wife, now? Do you think you somehow know her better than I do? Or that you somehow know my family affairs better then me? I do plan to talk with my wife... later... but right now, I'd like you to tell me the truth! What the heck is going on?!"

Trowa looked to Duo finally and sighed, “I’m saying you just never noticed. You have kids... they take up much of your attention. It comes with the job... I have a son, I know what it's like... I also know what I have seen from Hilde... sorry if it is different then what you’ve seen and gotten to know... is she not allowed to hug friends? Is that what it is? We’re friends... just like you and I are friends... and Heero, and Quatre and Wufei and Zechs and their wives. Some people are affectionate... some are physically affectionate. If you don't like it, you need to have a conversation with her... not me.”

Duo made a disgruntled noise at Trowa's words. He was horribly stubborn, though, as he retorted, "Fine... but what about you? Your own wife and adoptive sister are about the only ones I could even dare to think of to receive any kind of affection from you... Let alone physical... Except for Kaito, but he's your own kid... I doubt you're that affectionate to any other women, right? So what is so different about Hilde? About my wife? Tell me? Explain it to me... cause I just don't get it."

Trowa groaned, his wrist still in Duo’s grip. He could easily pull it away but chose not to as he sighed, “Hilde likes to hug... I am not going to be rude and push her away... I’d rather not hurt her feelings... ok? Can you drop it now?” He asked though he was getting really aggravated by this line of questioning and he really just wanted Duo to leave him alone right now. He’d need to talk to Hilde about being affectionate in view of others. He really didn’t need this bullshit and his usually calm mask was going to crumble quite quickly if Duo didn't shut up very soon. 

Duo huffed but he didn't let go, clearly getting agitated himself with getting the run around. He didn't want to be ignored and he didn't like getting half-truths and partial truths, "I just don't buy it. I don't buy it at all... any of it." After a moment he finally shoved the others wrist away, letting go of it as he did and finally spoke, "I'm just going to say it. Outright... right here, right now... I want the truth... Now... Are you having an affair with my wife?" 

Trowa relaxed some when Duo let go of his wrist, though the others words before unnerved him. At the final question he just rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest calmly, letting out an exasperated sigh, “you are an idiot, Duo Maxwell... stop being stupidly paranoid... Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to check up on my son and see how my own wife is doing... You should probably have that conversation with yours. Clearly you two have some things to work out.” 

If a person was watching very carefully, they would have seen the very moment Duo's fury finally broke to the surface. The pale blue eyes narrowed darkly, body shaking, filled with previously pent up rage. He was like a volcano about to erupt and then... he did. He growled as he wound back, fist finally lunging forward as he punched the other, landing a nasty blow to the other's cheek as he yelled, "You are! Aren't you?! Tell me the truth!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you could leave me a review, that would be great. Reviews inspire me to write more. =^-^= It doesn't have to be long. Just knowing you enjoyed it is enough. Constructive criticism is always welcome as well.


	3. Broken Masks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Duo's managed to break the unbreakable mask of the usually stoic Trowa Barton... What he sees beneath might just make the other think again about messing with the green eyed circus performer... but Trowa's not the only one wearing a mask... and it seems today is the day for masks to start shattering...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll slowly start adding warnings and stuff as I go. Enjoy this chapter and sorry if it's a little slow going. The real drama is still to come, promise. This is no slice of life story...

Trowa knew a millisecond too late what was coming, though he should have seen it coming fairly easily in all honesty. Even if he'd known just in time, however, he probably wouldn't have tried to do anything to stop this moment from happening... His head whipped to the side from the force of the others fist. Sparks of pain shooting through his cheek and his eyes momentarily saw white. His sight came back after a moment, thought slightly blurry for a few seconds. 

The hit was very clearly powerful enough to knock most people onto their asses, if not knock them completely unconscious. Trowa, however, wasn't most people. He was a mercenary, a soldier, a Gundam pilot... and the hit didn't even cause the highly skilled acrobat and soldier to lose his balance, let alone take a step back. It was intimidating, really... like Duo had just hit a brick wall. 

Not even half a second after Duo landed his punch, Trowa growled low in his throat and his eyes narrowed darkly and then it was his time to snap. Before Duo knew what was happening, Trowa had the collar of his shirt and Duo was being pulled, whipped around to the side and behind Trowa as the other used the momentum, and his weight, to toss the other to the ground harshly. 

Duo soon found himself on his back with, an unusually pissed, Trowa on top him. One arm pinned the other to the ground by the neck, almost completely cutting off his oxygen. Trowa's other hand was still fisted in his shirt, grip enough to turn the green eyed pilot's knuckles white. If that weren't terrifying enough, Trowa's eyes seemed, for a split moment, something less then human... something feral... and extremely dangerous... before they returned to his normal, albeit very, very furious, emerald green eyes.

It all happened so fast that Duo barely knew what was happening and he could have sworn for a split second that he'd seen something almost animalistic in Trowa's eyes... but no... he had to have been hallucinating. The fall knocked the air right out of his lungs and he took a few seconds to desperately try to gain it back. It didn't help much that he still had the other's arm pressed against his neck, cutting off much of that desperately needed oxygen. With all of this, however, he still had an issue that he wanted resolved... An issue he wasn't ready to drop just yet. 

He sucked in as much air as he could manage for a few more seconds before he croaked out in a hoarse voice, "Y-You seem to think you know everything... But Hilde tells me jack and shit. Why she has night terrors... She won't talk to me when I try to comfort her... She acts almost afraid of me. Of..." He took a moment to suck some more air back into his screaming lungs, "Of course it'd make me wonder what's going on. You think a simple hug and a kiss to the cheek would make me really this pissed?! Of course not! It's cause she won't talk to me!"

"If she isn't telling you... there is probably a reason for it... you should probably drop it... whatever it is... you prying could make things worse... and could push her away... You could lose her..." Trowa said finally before letting go, eyes still narrowed as he pushed off the other quickly, using the arm against the other's neck to do so. The movement from kneeling over Duo with his legs on either side of the other to standing was fast and fluid and looked absolutely effortless.

Trowa still looked angry despite everything and more importantly... there was just something in Trowa's voice when he'd spoken just now... something that almost sounded threatening... like it wasn't just Trowa telling Duo what might happen if he pried into Hilde's secrets... but rather what Trowa could make happen if he pissed him off by continuing to press the issue. 

Trowa took one slightly shaky breath, trying to calm his hammering heart as his pulse echoed in his eardrums. He then took one last look at Duo before he turned and walked out of the room. He couldn't be there right now... he might seriously hurt Duo and Hilde would have his head if he did that... with that he headed towards the door... He walked with such a calm stride that one wouldn't necessarily know something had happened if they didn't notice the uncharacteristic fury on the green eyed pilot's face... uncharacteristic fury he seemed to be having a lot of trouble containing... he needed to get out of here... now.

Duo coughed a bit as he moved to get to his shaky feet, a little bit dizzy from lack of oxygen. He didn't dare try to go after the other pilot again. The rational part of him always knew that Trowa was in a different league from him. He was too much like Heero at times, but even more mysterious. He was so battle hardened even when they were teenagers. He knew very little about Trowa's past except that he'd pretty much lived his life on the battlefield... One should never underestimate someone like that...

It was so rare for the other to snap like this, though... and Duo had just learned the hard way, how terrifying it was when that unbridled rage was aimed at you. The scariest part of all of it was... sometimes it felt like Trowa was holding back... he was sure he just had, too, despite how furious he'd been. It was impossible for the blue eyed brunette to know what was going on in the green eyed man's head. Had he really hit the others buttons that bad? It wasn't like Trowa hadn't given him a good fist once or twice... Did it have to do with Hilde? Or the accusations? He wasn't sure... but he wouldn't press it right now. Pressing it could be detrimental to his life... or at the very least his health.

As far as Trowa's words about Hilde pushing him away... Let's face it... he already felt like that was happening at times. It was like there was a part of her life he wasn't welcome in. A part of it that she wanted to keep him out of... whether it was because she was embarrassed about it, afraid of what he might think about it or just really didn't want him to be part of that part of her life... he just didn't know. So of course it would be hard on the man. He wanted Hilde to trust him... and he felt like she didn't.

Trowa stormed out of the building, just in time to nearly knock over Kaito and Roa as they headed up the steps to head in to collect Kaito's water balloons. He stopped just in time to avoid knocking them over but he still looked pissed. It took him a couple seconds to take a breath and plaster on his 'mask'. He looked to Kaito and let out in a calm voice, "Let your mother know we're leaving... I'll be in the car..." he uttered, saying nothing more, before brushing past them and heading towards their vehicle.

Kaito leaned back when his dad nearly ran them over. He looked like he was on a rampage but then he saw it... the telltale sign of his dad 'locking up' his emotions. He'd seen it before... whenever he was angry... or after a night terror... he'd just lock it all away behind this mask... becoming completely stoic... devoid of emotions... He knew what that meant... something bad had happened. He noticed the redness to the other's cheek after that and frowned, "D... dad? What happened?" he asked but his father had already walked away, "crap... sorry Roa... Guess I'm going home..." he mumbled out.

Roa could feel the anger in Trowa's stance and barely concealed in his voice, causing the hair to bristle on the boy's neck, but soon that impassive looked replaced the anger and he bit his lip as he looked to his friend nervously, "I don't know what happened but maybe he'll change his mind and you guys can come back tomorrow? Either way, it's okay... We'll see each other again soon. You'll call, right?"

Dorothy had found out about the commotion, the sound of two bodies hitting the ground being rather loud and she'd offered to be the one to check it out. She had been talking with Hilde, Relena, Noin, Une and Sally and could sense the unease. Despite the sound coming from the parlour, however, she headed towards the door as if she knew that's where she needed to be. 

She walked out of the building just as Trowa was slipping past the two boys and off towards the car park. She was just in time to catch sight of the bright red bruise forming on her husband's left cheek as he walked away. She knew better then to try and follow him and question him about it right away and instead quickly moved to her son instead, asking, "What happened to your father? Did he tell you what happened?" 

Kaito frowned and shook his head, "I don't know... he said we're leaving... he's really mad... I think we should... maybe go?" he mumbled, seeming upset but also worried about his dad, "I have no idea what happened. I was out here with Roa," he explained. He had no idea that his father had been with Duo and Hilde or that Hilde had left or even about the hug and the kiss to the cheek that had started all of it. He finally looked to Roa and nodded, "Of course I'll call... We'll hang out again soon. Maybe on the next long weekend."

Trowa, meanwhile, slipped into the drivers seat of the car and pressed his hands to his face, palms against his clenched eyes. He grit his teen as he took a deep breath and groaned. He then took a deep breath, slowly working on relaxing his muscles from his toes up... wiggling the toes followed by his whole foot then his ankle and taking deep calming breaths, using it all as a momentary distraction. He needed to stay calm... a calm mind was always a useful one... a stressed mind made mistakes.

Dorothy only nodded at her son as she passed the two of them and walked towards the car park where Trowa was seated in their car, car top down and hands fisted in his lap. For a minute she just watched the expression on his face. How he worked to slowly calm himself. This wasn't anything new. She had a similar process she used, especially after night terrors. They'd learned a lot of coping mechanisms for panic attacks, night terrors and the occasional emotional outburst such as this. 

After giving Trowa the time he needed to get himself mostly under control, she asked, "What happened? Who hit you?" It was clear that the bruise was from someone's fist. Even if it wasn't, her husband wasn't clumsy. He wouldn't have had an accident and fell and they were certainly not in any area where it would have been appropriate to be sparring. No... this was caused by, either, someone else's clumsiness or worse, for them, their deliberate attack. It was confusing as they were all friends here but even friends fought at times.

Roa looked very disappointed but understood that there wasn't anything to be done about this. He just leaned over for one more hug from his friend before he looked at Kaito sympathetically, "Okay. You take care, and I hope to see you again soon. I'll try to see if I can get us some camping gear for when you visit, okay? It'll be lots of fun and I'll make sure to get everything we need for smores."

Trowa shook his head, taking another deep breath, letting his hands move to the steering wheel and gripping it as he let out, "It doesn't matter... lets just go... please..." he uttered out in that near irritating emotionless voice. Dorothy hated that voice more then anything... Trowa knew this... he knew she hated it when he hid from her... but he was just so angry and stressed... he knew he shouldn't blame Duo... Duo didn't know... he was kept in the dark and was finally starting to snap because of it. 

Trowa was honestly more angry at himself for not being able to keep his emotions in check around the other. He should have been able to handle that so much easier... He shouldn't have gotten angry... he should have taken the hit and walked calmly away... but... the guilt was there... he truly trusted and cherished his friendships with the other pilots and sometimes he felt guilty keeping things from them... not to mention... he hadn't been hit like that in a very, very long time... sure, he'd been shot a few times... blown up, knocked around... but he'd never been punched like that... at least not beyond the friendly sparring match. It brought back memories he really didn't want to dwell on.

Kaito, meanwhile, nodded to Roa and plastered on his brightest smile, "Sounds good..." he said, though he chanced a glance towards his parents and frowned again. His mom didn't seem happy and he had a feeling he knew why, "Hey... Roa... Did you see my dad before you came to find me? Any idea who he was with?" he asked, hoping the other might know something. He knew his dad didn't want them to interfere and he should probably drop it but he didn't like people messing with his family any more then either of his parents did. 

Roa looked to the ground for a minute. Even a boy like him could figure out at least who had most likely been present when this incident occurred, "Well..." He started "I ran past your dad heading towards the parlour where my parents were and I'm sure he would have likely stopped to talk to them." He gave a deep frown, "You think something happened with them? You don't think my dad... My dad wouldn't have hit him would he?"

Kaito frowned and bit his bottom lip before giving a polite nod to Roa, "thanks..." he uttered as he followed after his parents, not bothered when Roa followed behind him like a lost puppy, trying to cherish what was likely their last moments together for today. He looked to his mom and sighed, "He may have been with Duo and Hilde..." he murmured, knowing that if it was between those two... it wasn't Hilde... 

Dorothy heard the boy's words and her attention moved to placing her hand on her husband's white knuckled stressed hand, "Is that it? Was it something that happened between them?" She didn't really even have to guess at the perpetrator. Hilde would never hit Trowa. Besides, considering the size of the bruise, it was most definitely a man's fist, "Did Duo hit you? Tell me... No one had the right to hit you, Trowa... I don't care who it is... Tell me who did this..."

Trowa sighed and looked to Dorothy with those near blank emerald green eyes but he just couldn't quite keep the anger and hurt from his voice as he replied, “well it certainly wasn’t Hilde... just forget about it, Dorry...” he whispered out. He didn’t usually use nicknames or pet names around the others but when it was just the two of them, Kaito and or Hilde... he tended to use them quite often, “Let’s just go home and forget any of this happened...”

Kaito sighed and frownedm, “Great... probably about some macho guy stuff...” he mumbled, trying to make a joke but not really sounding all that playful, “sometimes I don’t get adults... fighting over girls and stuff and getting jealous or showing off what they got... it’s just stupid...” he then looked to Roa and gave a bit of a wave, “I’ll call... ok?” he said as he turned towards his parents, “so... we shipping out?”

Dorothy, however, turned away from the vehicle, not even looking at her child to answer his question, "We will in a minute. There's someone I've got to speak to..." She uttered out and then she was walking off, heading towards the main building, storming up the steps and inside. She walked straight towards the parlour where she found Duo, who had secluded himself to the corner by the window, looking rightfully cowed. 

Trowa sighed as Dorothy stormed off, wincing just slightly as he shook his head. He closed his eyes after a moment, sighing and just leaning back into the chair. Well... Duo was fucked... You did not piss off Dorothy Catalonia-Barton... not unless you had a fucking death wish. That boy was in for a world of hurt... He did not envy him in the least.

Duo didn't see it coming, or didn't try to stop her when she reared back and hit him, "I'll teach you to hit my husband, you prick!" Now, Duo wasn't about to hit back. Not only was she a woman, it would have started a full-blown war with Trowa and that was a shit show he did not want to see. He'd already caught a glimpse of how angry the usually reserved man could become if provoked. So after the initial hit he was just blocking or trying to dodge her aggressive attacks.

Roa agreed that adults did stupid stuff but right now he was worried about his father and about all of this really. He bit his bottom lip as his eyes darted to his friend, "I... I think I better find Mom." He uttered out nervously before he started running, rushing into the building and down the hallway, calling for his mom, wanting to get her attention. As a kid he likely would just make the situation worse so he figured getting his mom involved was the safer bet. 

Kaito frowned and sighed as Roa rushed off, feeling a little bit guilty for telling his mom what the other had said... but part of him was angry... he didn't like seeing his parents hurt... He took a breath, figuring he should probably try to do something before someone got seriously hurt... He chanced one last glance at his dad who was still trying to calm himself, before steeling himself, features going stern, as he turned and walked into the house. A couple of seconds later, he all but stormed into the room where his mother was beating on Duo. 

Kaito took only about a second to assess the situation. Once he had, his movements were quick, calculated and determined. He waited for just the right punch, from his mother, to step between the two. He pushed Duo back with his right hand with rather powerful force as he brought the left arm up to block the punch from his mother. Pain rushed through the arm but he stared at her, not flinching at the hit as he let out in a calm, yet stern voice, “he’s had enough... his lesson’s learned... time to go home...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you could leave me a review, that would be great. Reviews inspire me to write more. =^-^= It doesn't have to be long. Just knowing you enjoyed it is enough. Constructive criticism is always welcome as well. I'd love to know what you think it going on in the story. I'm always curious to see if I'm letting too much slip or just the right amount. ~_^


	4. Broken Trust

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kaito's managed to break up the fighting but confusion lingers, feelings have been hurt and trusts are wavering in the aftermath of the chaos. Can the Gundam group figure out what's going on and mend damaged relationships? And finally Quatre arrives with his family!

There was just something in the brown haired boy’s tone of voice and in his steely green eyes that said, 'Don’t question me and don’t go against me. This is a fight you will not win.' He was almost like a parent berating a child but there was something darker there, like a trained soldier at war, facing off against the enemy, yet more feral still... just like his father had been only minutes before... It was like an alpha wolf facing off against a competitor vying for control of the pack...

Hilde, meanwhile, blinked when she heard Roa’s voice calling to her. She felt like something was very wrong... there was something fearful and desperate in her child’s voice that made her heart leap in her chest and her instincts warn her of danger. She rushed out of the room where she’d been talking with Relena, Une, Sally and Lucrezia, “Roa?! What’s wrong, sweetie?!”

Relena, Sally, Une and Lucrezia weren’t far behind Hilde, also worried about the screaming child. Heero, Wufei, Zechs, Xiu and Akio rushed down the hallway a few seconds later, having heard the commotion, as well, and wondering what was going on. The pilots, of course, all on red alert thanks to their training and years of being in war.

Roa, glad to have found his mom, stopped in front of her, panting lightly and looking nervous. He took a couple of breaths before looking up at her as he spoke in a quick and frantic voice, "I think Dad and Trowa had a fight. Trowa came out with a bruise and headed to their car... Dorothy saw the bruise and I think she's gone after Dad. I'm scared she might hurt him. She was real angry..."

Dorothy looked like she was shaking as she looked at her son muttering, "Get out of the way, Kaito..." By now, Quatre and his own wife, Catherine, and their 15 year old son Karim had made their way to the scene, having just arrived. Quatre immediately moved to try to tend to the now large bruises forming on Duo's face. "Are you okay?" The blond asked quietly, only to receive a dismissive nod as Duo muttered, "I... I'm fine... It's nothing..."

Hilde tensed at Roa’s words, alarm bells ringing in her ears as she rushed past the boy and headed towards the parlour where she’d left Duo and Trowa earlier. She should have stayed... she should have stayed but she was so sure Trowa had it handled. She didn’t realize just how upset Duo really was... she’d miscalculated and now both Trowa and Duo were paying for it... not to mention Dorothy was probably a wreck if Duo had hit Trowa and calming her was going to take forever and then there’d be questions and scared kids and... fuck what had she done?!

Kaito’s calm eyes narrowed at Dorothy’s words as he said in a calm but almost terrifying voice, “We’re leaving, now... Do not make me knock you out... because I will... He is Hilde’s husband... he is a Gundam pilot... he’s my best friend’s father... and he is your friend and dad’s friend... back the fuck off, now! It is over! It's done!” He said, shouting the last bit, fists clenched in warning. 

Relena rushed in as well, to help Quatre with Duo, when she saw the scene and the injured male, “what in the world is going on?!” She asked as she rushed to a cupboard and pulled out a first aid kit. They had them all over the Sanq Palace just in case. It was a big place after all and accidents did happen... especially when you had a bunch of kids running around. 

Sally was soon next to the two of them as well, ready to help with her medical training, “let me get a good look at you, Maxwell... Relena... we’re probably going to need some ice packs... got any?” She asked calmly as she sighed, examining the blue eyed males face. He had a split lip and would most certainly have a black eye in the morning but he was otherwise fine. It would hurt but it wasn't going to kill him.

Xiu, Wufei's daughter, frowned and pressed herself against her father slightly, confused and unsure of what was going on. She didn't like violence and didn't like to see people get hurt. Akio, meanwhile, scowled and muttered, “this behaviour is completely unacceptable... we’re supposed to be here to enjoy ourselves and each other’s company... not fight amongst ourselves...”

Heero nodded at Akio’s words and sighed, “I know I say the best way to live is to follow your emotions but, seriously, sometimes you need to use your head a little too...” he grumbled out, “someone should check on Trowa... if Duo hurt him he might need to be tended to as well... not that i'm under the impression that Trowa can't manage to take care of his own injuries or anything...”

While Quatre and Sally tended to Duo, Relena got up and headed towards the kitchens to get a couple of ice packs while Heero sighed, "The heck was that all about anyway, Maxwell?" he asked and Wufei nodded, "I was wondering the same thing myself. What in the world and the colonies would cause you to hit Trowa? I doubt the two of you thought it was a good idea to spar in the parlour."

Dorothy seemed surprised at her son's actions. Actually it was how both of them could be dealt with. She was still upset, but she was composed enough to pull away. Duo allowed Sally to look at his injuries, but he felt too ashamed to explain. Catherine meanwhile looked between the two as she spoke, "I'm going to go check on Trowa and make sure he's ok..." She said, glaring daggers at Duo for a moment before she looked to her nephew asking, "Where's your Father, Hun?"

Zechs and Lucrecia soon made their way over. The raven haired woman had a glass of water in her hand as she offered it to Dorothy, "Here... Take a drink and try to calm down. I'm sure Trowa is just fine. He's a Gundam pilot... They can handle just about anything from what I've seen," They all were confused about what was going on but anything to stop the situation from getting worse was progress.

Hilde finally stepped in and frowned at the scene, eyes stopping on Kaito after glancing over at Dorothy and Duo to ensure they were ok. She smiled warmly to the boy and gave a calm nod. He'd done well... she was proud of him. He'd handled that like a pro... though in all honesty... he probably was by now... she wasn't stupid... she knew about Trowa and Dorothy's night terrors... She'd tended to the results of some of them in the past including a nasty bite mark between Trowa's neck and shoulder from a particularly nasty night terror that Dorothy had had.

"Anything I can do?" she finally asked but felt particularly useless in this moment... she wasn't sure she wanted to check on Duo yet... she was just slightly upset with him but at the same time... it was her fault he'd gotten like this... she shouldn't have hugged Trowa... It was her decision to keep things from him in the first place. She shouldn't have put Trowa in that situation. She was thankful that he hadn't told Duo anything though... Trowa was a good friend... even if she didn't feel like she particularly deserved it right now.

Kaito, meanwhile, let out a breath, relaxing as his mother visibly calmed. He gave a nod to Hilde as Lucrezia gave his mom the glass of water. He smiled weakly as he sighed, looking over to the other kids and plastering on the ol' Kaito grin, "Crisis averted... it's all good... promise..." he said, winking playfully. It was a look that could calm most people, if they didn't know enough to realize he was expertly faking it. Hiding his emotions was a skill he'd learned from his father... he just hid them in a way that screamed Duo rather then Trowa. 

With that he walked over and motioned to the other kids, "How bout we all head to the backyard and play some tag or something? Get us some exercise..." he said, smiling warmly to the other kids and motioning them ahead of him. As he walked past his aunt, on the way, he let out quietly, "Dad went to the car... he wants to go home... can you... make him stay? You're really good at that kind of thing... he listens to you... I don't want to go yet." 

The female circus performer gave a gentle smile to her nephew as she ruffled his hair, "Don't you worry, Hunny. I'll get him to come around. Your old man can't say no to his big sis, trust me," she said with a wink before putting a hand on his shoulder, "Thank you for helping to calm your Mom down. You did a good job... and thanks for taking care of the other kids too..." 

Kaito nodded to Catherine and seconds later he was leading Roa, Elda, Xiuzhen, Akio, as well as his cousin, Karim, and Zechs and Lucrecia's 14 year old daughter Miriona, outside into the back to get them out of the way and calm them down... well, the ones who weren't calm at least... Akio, as always, was as cool as a cucumber... if Relena wasn't so dead set against him being trained to fight, Kaito was sure that Akio would have already been trained just as well as he was... though he was pretty sure Heero snuck in some training anyway... 

Duo seemed flustered at all the attention he was getting as he murmured softly, "I'm fine... Don't worry about me..." Though he looked at Dorothy with just a hint of fear, "You both have made your points, okay?" Though he looked down as he started to stand up from the floor where he'd landed when Kaito had shoved him back. He frowned before grumbling, "Let's just let it go... I don't want to be pushed away, after all."

Meanwhile, Catherine made her way outside and to the car park where she spotted Trowa in his convertible, still sitting behind the wheel. She sighed as she walked over and leaned over, resting her arms on the door, "Why don't you try to come back in? Duo doesn't seem like he's in any mood to fight anymore. I don't know what happened, but we'll make sure that nothing happens again."

Trowa tensed when she neared, having been too focused on what was going on in his own mind to sense her oncoming presence. Usually he could sense her from a mile away so hearing her voice suddenly had been a shock. He frowned at her words, however, not looking at her as he stared at his hands, “I nearly killed him... I lost it and I was going to choke him to death... it isn’t a good idea for me to go back in...”

Hilde frowned at Duo’s words before shaking her head, turning to Dorothy, “come on... let’s grab an ice pack for Trowa and go check on him...” she said calmly, placing a hand on the blond woman’s shoulder, “come on...” she said, ushering the other to follow her and not rear back on Duo. Two of the them headed out, Hilde not looking back at Duo as she tried to lead the other woman out of the room.

Catherine shook her head at her adoptive brother for a moment as she placed her hand on his shoulder, "I think you'll be just fine, Trowa... You're son really wants you to stay, and the situation between Duo and Dorothy has been defused well enough. We don't get a chance to be here as a group like this very often... Come on... Give it another shot... If not for me... do it for your kid who wants to spend some time with his friends."

Duo knew Hilde was ignoring him as he frowned and muttered, "Fine... I get it..." He was going to make himself scarce as he made his way out of the room. Sally, Quatre and Relena letting him go, though Relena made sure he brought one of the ice packs with him. Maybe he'd find a quiet hall and everyone would just leave him alone. He was just in a no-win situation... it sucked.

Trowa sighed, taking a deep breath and plastering on his stoic mask, “fine... Just give me a bit... and keep him away from me...” he uttered as he shifted, unlocking the door. It was a start at least. His cheek was starting to darken more by this point and was slightly swollen. He was still angry deep down... and more then that, Duo had brought forth fears and insecurities he’d thought he’d dealt with years ago. Well, fears and insecurities he'd wanted to have fully dealt with years ago. 

Catherine gave a light nod to the green eyed male and smiled warmly, reaching out to squeeze his shoulder gently as she responded, "Of course... Take your time... ok? Let me go and get an ice pack for you at least. It'll help with the swelling. You're starting to look like a grape..." she chuckled, trying to help cheer him up.

Hilde, meanwhile, brought Dorothy to a private room before she sighed and turned the girl to face her, “what were you thinking?! You could have killed him! I know you were angry but we’re trying to keep a low profile remember? If you break my husbands pretty face, low profile goes away... Trowa can handle a right hook, Dorry... he can handle a lot worse too...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you could leave me a review, that would be great. Reviews inspire me to write more. =^-^= It doesn't have to be long. Just knowing you enjoyed it is enough. Constructive criticism is always welcome as well. 
> 
> Also, sorry for the short chapter, the next one will probably be longer. I want to end the chapters at interesting points in the story... usually cliffhangers... I'm sorry, I know... I'm evil. XD 
> 
> P.S. Tell me what you think is going on. I'm curious to see how everyone is interpreting the story so far. =)


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